Me and my girlfriend have a 6 month Black GS called Pixie, we have had her for around 2 months.

She came from a breeder living out on a farm, very quiet and isolated place.

We live in the suburbs, in a residential area so always cars, buses, noise, people, dogs etc

Her first time walking was of course very slow and very frightened of everything which we expected and now she is progressing a lot but still there are times when I take her for a walk and she will put on the brakes every 5-10 paces.

I turn around slightly and see she is facing behind us looking and listening, very focused. There is usually nothing there..

I gave her a slight tug and call her, works sometimes but not all the time. Once she wouldn't move for a solid 5 mins, looking in the distance at nothing..

Is she being protective checking behind her or being fearful...?

I found that being patient and letting her have a look and listen works better, she comes in her own time when she is comfortable.

Not sure whether to allow this behaviour to happen or not..?

Also she is scared of plastic bags and big logs, I have to go touch them or sit on the log until she realises not to be scared.. is this method ok?

IMO, I think you are doing right in letting the puppy take her time looking at things. All my pups seemed to need to "look" and process then they move on. Also, touching things to show the pup that they are OK is fine. It does take patience but it's worth it.

You are doing a great job. There needs to be a balance to respect she is concerned but then that YOU will show her it's ok. The more she learns that you are a confident leader that is guiding her thru life the more she'll just look to you and follow you rather then think she's got to deal with the 'whatever' on her own.

Do NOT consider any of her behaviors as being 'protective' that's a bad road that will allow her to become a fearful dog. Instead, this is her being unsure of new things and you need to build her confidence so she will (when she's and ADULT) be better able to determine normal from something she should be concerned about (with your help!)

Have you started up any classes yet? Huge help for the human to get the leadership role in our dogs eyes.

And if you can learn clicker training to start taking treats on your walks this will really get better fast. Hungry dog. Real treats. You knowing how to mark the behaviors you want. She's the perfect age to work thru all these issues with your help.

Thank you so much for this advise and reassuring me I am doing something right, its good feeling to know I done something right that was natural in me.. Its my first dog as well.

One of the most important things that I keep forgetting is that she is only 6 months and I have only had her 2 months, shes a big and heavy girl already and I am always expecting too much sometimes...

I need to give myself a reality check at times and give her back some patience which I take at times..

This month I am starting classes! She needs dog socialization a lot, so this will help. Shes great with strange people but dogs smaller than her she wants to play and dogs bigger than her she hides behind me.. hehe

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